Until The End
by Valkyrie Lupin
Summary: 'click your fingers and set me on fire' Valkyrie Cain and Skulduggery Pleasant never knew how much time they had left. What they knew was that it was always going to be the two of them against the rest of the world. No matter what happened. [a series of one shots] LATEST: Take Me Home, part 1 of 3
1. Burn This Out

**A/N:** This scene is from the LSODM book, chapter 59 and chapter 60. Spoilers ahead, please take note. Some of the dialogue was lifted from the book to keep in context with the scene. The quote in the summary is from poisonesse on 8tracks.

**Summary**

_"Valkyrie," he said. He liked using her name._

He will always remember it.

The time when he lost his partner. The one time when he could not save her.

* * *

**BURN THIS OUT  
**_**giv****e me love****  
**_

Skulduggery's not often worried. Not much. Not really. It's just that there has been no sign of Valkyrie. So, he worries now, just a little bit. There's always been madness in her. For her to have accepted him easily as her best friend, clearly there was something not right. Finding out she was Darquesse just made that instability sway to the dangerous side.

Now though, he thinks that she is more on the edge. As if it will take a slight push, and down, down, _down_, she will fall. Skulduggery remembers being Vile all too well, the heady rush of power. The thrill of blood and murder, it was wonderful. He cannot deny he has many regrets, many things to atone for.

Ghastly's mother. Ghastly. Ghastly, his childhood best friend. Anton, the droll man who fought with them. He was a detective, he should've realised that Ravel was the traitor.

But try as he may, he could never really regret enjoying the power that came with being Lord Vile. He regrets the deaths he caused, but not the power it brought.

Ajuoga is speaking. Concentrate, Skulduggery. There's a thickening of shadows, a slight shift in the air.

_She's here.  
_

"I don't think we will be here long anyway…" he says, not really keeping track of what he is speaking. Valkyrie's twisting the shadows, working it around her. He tries to peer into the shadows, to see if she's alright. He remembers her falling in the sand, pitching forward when her legs gave out underneath her. He caught her before she began to breathe in sand, swung her up into his arms. And carried her rest of the way. She was not alright, not when he left her.

"You think I would know?" Ajuoga's question snaps his attention back to her. He has to focus, distract Ajuoga. Keep her pacing, keep her walking closer to Valkyrie. He talks, does that thing that Valkyrie keeps claiming about and he keeps denying. Fletcher helps him out, unknowingly.

"I'll hold them off. You save yourself," he says. Skulduggery stares at him. After all the trouble they went through, to leave him behind? The boy had clearly lost it.

"I am not leaving you here, Fletcher." Fletcher is needed to get them out safely. Valkyrie stands still, silent, Ajuoga nearly in her range.

"Ah, go on." Those words coincide with Valkyrie's jump. There she was, dressed as a Bride of Blood Tears. Dear god, would Fletcher stop gawking? She looked good, excellent if he had to say it. There would be time for admiration and ribbing later. Right now, she needs help.

Ajuoga tumbles out of range from Valkyrie. _Quick, before she recovers_, he thinks.

"Finish her off—"

Ajuoga is already leaping back, snatching a dagger from her hip and slashing Valkyrie. She tries to hold her off, but Ajuoga slashes persistently. Fletcher is going frantic, getting more anxious with every slash that draws blood. Valkyrie falters; steps back on instinct to avoid the blade. He has to remain calm for all of them, be the voice of reason and help her the only way he knows.

"Don't retreat," he reminds her. "Every step backwards, you give her more room to work. Meet her. Get in close. Guard, Valkyrie. Where's your guard?"

The smart girl, she figures it out and falters on purpose. She allows Ajuoga to slip through her guard and springs onto her.

"Good girl."

Valkyrie snatches the dagger, and rains palm shots on Ajuoga's face. She steps into her space, hip to hip and twists Ajuoga onto her shoulder and throws her down. The witch breaks her fall, springs to her feet. She misjudges and falls again, this time pulling Valkyrie down with her. Then, she is holding Valkyrie in a triangle choke.

He never taught her how to get out of it. He never thought she would need it. A big mistake that he has to fix, but that is for later. Now, he needs to draw Valkyrie's attention to the dagger she has forgotten about. No easy feat, when she's turning red from the lack of air. The idiot Fletcher also is cussing the witch out, overriding what he is trying to tell Valkyrie. Oh no, she is starting to struggle less.

"Valkyrie, your dagger. Use it. Valkyrie, dagger at your hip. Valkyrie, you still have your own dagger." She heard it eventually, slipping it out of the sheath and stabbing the witch with it. Ajuoga kicks her away, shocked and in pain. Valkyrie catches her breath and claws the witch's face even as she leaps at Valkyrie. The witch shrieks and jumps on Valkyrie's back, pulling her hair and biting off her ear.

She stands and throws the witch away, pressing a palm to the side of her bleeding ear. Ajuoga runs at Valkyrie and on instinct, she snaps her palm forward. Starts pushing at the air, then Ajuoga leaps and a spear of shadows leaps forth and skewers the witch as the air settles.

Fletcher falls silent, horrified at the turn of events. Skulduggery knows better, knows it was not deliberate. Throughout the fight, Valkyrie seemed out of form at moments, missing openings. Darquesse must be rising and Valkyrie is doing her best to hold her back. Ajuoga's body floats, held up by the shadow spear.

Valkyrie instead, seems horror struck. Staring at the body, lost in her thoughts. Darquesse. No, he cannot let her suffer like he did with Vile.

"Valkyrie, Valkyrie. Valkyrie."

Finally, a response. She tilts her head, still not looking away from the body.

"Valkyrie, look at me." She turns and meets his gaze. She looks blank, absent as if her body works but not her soul. _Where's the snark?_

"Put her down, Valkyrie. Put her down."

She shifts a little, allows the shadows to dissipate gently. He stands straight, remains firm, remains calm. He needs her to break the binding circle, break the necklace. He looks at her, this blank thing that wears her face.

"Valkyrie. I need you to break the necklace. Can you do that? Break her necklace and we can get out of here now. Come on now. Someone will have heard. They'll be coming." They are already coming, he feels the air shift yet there is time, precious little but there is time. She turns on her heel, walks to the witch and looks down.

"Valkyrie, I can hear them. They are coming. Break the necklace. Valkyrie, Valkyrie. _Valkyrie._" She nudges Ajuoga while crouching to break it.

"Look out!" Fletcher cries out. She stands, fluidly moving to attack the newcomers. Ajuoga's body is closer now, he drags it into the circle using her cape. Suddenly, the newcomers are down. Valkyrie is fleeing out of the room.

_Darquesse._

He grabs the necklace off, puts it on the ground and drives an elbow into it, shattering it. His magic is finally back and he is free. Time to find Valkyrie. But first, he must deal with these witches. Fletcher finally proves useful. He helps him clear the way. It becomes a blur, the fight. He is brutal, efficient in his strikes. There's no time to be kind or merciful, he has to find her now, find her fast before she gives in.

Fletcher and he follow the trail of bodies, their way practically clear. Well, almost. They encounter resistance and he dispatches them easily. Fletcher wisely holds his tongue. Why did Valkyrie go further down into the pyramid? That is where the trail leads but he has no time to question this. She has to be found. Now.

A scream, wild and loud echoes through the passageway. Skulduggery starts sprinting, not caring about Fletcher anymore.

_Valkyrie!  
_

Whatever he imagined to be the cause, was far more kinder than the reality. Valkyrie hovers in the air, suspended by the magic of the witches. A leg has been ripped off and now, her left arm is gone. She continues screaming, the pain must be unimaginable. Even if he rescues her now, she will die of blood loss. Valkyrie, his partner, his best friend will die by this. Such a meaningless death, when she should have gone out in a blaze of glory or died in old age.

Valkyrie shrieks now, a higher pitched wail that rings in his skull. A sound that will haunt him, scar him for life.

Darquesse will emerge soon, subsuming Valkyrie. He needs to do something, to stop it. That nightmare that she has been haunted by for years. And he knows this slip will truly be for good. Valkyrie's just a girl, a girl who has had her family stolen by her doppelganger. She can't fight for long against Darquesse, especially when she has not much reason left to fight anymore. The fight drains her and Darquesse.

_Darquesse grows ever stronger._

She never really tells him this but he knows her. He also knows what it is like to have such great power at your beck and call, better than most people. He knows what it is like to have it sing to you, what it is like to give in finally. To let your pain, your worries, your fear, your confusion all be just taken away. He knows.

Fletcher catches up to him and nearly falls when he sees it. Skulduggery tries to think, for once, he has no plans. The witches take off another arm. Fletcher throws up.

Skulduggery pushes a palm out, sweeping away the witches directly in front of him. He will rescue her and Nye will fix her. She cannot die, not now. Not for a very long, long time to come. He's too late though, Valkyrie slumps even as he clears half the way.

Suddenly, she straightens. Her posture is different, more fluid and arrogant. Darquesse. Her time has come. She regrows her arms and leg. The witches are confused. Darquesse smiles down at them and Skulduggery drags a retching Fletcher back.

She snaps the magic holding her up and descends, the rest is carnage.

"Fletcher, when I tell you, teleport me over to her and grab her. Then, teleport back to Roarhaven." Fletcher nods, wipes his mouth on his sleeve and sucks in a breath.

All the while, Darquesse inflicts death on the witches. One witch tries to burn her alive, she twists her palm and the witch splinters apart. Another tries to stab her through and all she gets is her heart ripped out by Darquesse. The numbers begin to dwindle. Skulduggery nudges Fletcher, tells him to get ready. He needs to pull Valkyrie out of Darquesse. The longer Darquesse remains, the more Valkyrie disappears.

"Now," he whispers. Fletcher grabs his shoulder and they are face to face with Darquesse. She tilts her head at them, in a gesture that echoes of Valkyrie. She reaches out, touches his jawbone.

"Skulduggery. Fletcher," she says.

Even as Fletcher reaches out to grab her, she jumps into the air, out of his reach. Fletcher grabs him again and teleports up to meet Darquesse. When they get there, she is already flying out of a hole in the pyramid ceiling.

They have lost her. He has lost her.

His best friend, his partner.

His constant.

He's lost Valkyrie Cain.

* * *

**A/N: **I wrote this scene because I wanted a fic where it showed Skulduggery's reaction to the moment when Darquesse takes over Valkyrie. I hope this was in character, not much wit though because I felt this was a serious scene. I am going to write a few more scenes from the series from Skulduggery's POV. Mostly all around Valkyrie, cause I really, _really_ love their relationship.

Please review and let me know what you think. Thank you!


	2. Let It Lie

**A/N: **This is not exactly a direct look at Valkyrie and Skulduggery's relationship. But I felt it needed an outsider's view. I hope the subtext conveys it well enough.

Inspired to an extent by Bastille's Bad Blood.

**Summary**

___Nearly five years later, they had come full circle._

* * *

**LET IT LIE****  
****_those little things define us_**

_The mess of people, abominable. No organisation, no system._

China thought as she walked past the mages. They were repairing, strengthening and fortifying the Sanctuary for the time being till a better alternative could be found. The noise created by them, was it really necessary? She re-evaluated her decision to assume office. She knew she was signing up for something troublesome, something worthy of her. Knew perfectly well that it was going to drive her to the ends of the earth and then some. What she never thought or accounted for was how soon it would drive her mad. China considered letting someone else take over. If she told Valkyrie this, she would laugh.

China stopped. People whipped around her, as if she were the calm in the storm. If only that were the case.

_No, the child would have laughed. _

_S_he recollected, reconvened. There would be time later to think this over, think this through. The thoughts were running circles in her mind, did she really want Valkyrie dead, gone beyond reach. She continued walking, she needed to find Dwale.

Valkyrie had been far too young. Most of the times, she never seemed so. She had held her own against Vex and Saracen, gone toe to toe with much older sorcerers and defeated them. She carried herself with an air, not a presumptuous one. More of an air of worldly experience, as if she had seen all there had to be seen. Personally, China believed that it was true, Valkyrie did not have the centuries on most members of the sorcerers' community.

But she lived, she had seen many things. Didn't that account for more than age should have? _Had lived._ It is hard, thinking of her in the past tense. China drew in a breath, let it out. Carefully, she gathered her thoughts. She would think about Valkyrie later. When there was nobody, when she was alone, when she could finally… what? Mour—

_No._

China did not relent in her pace. It was not an option. It still persisted, curled in itself in a corner. Waiting for when she was alone. No, she had a Sanctuary to run, a sorcerous community that emerged from war, wounded, broken and many dead. She had people to see, she needed to begin brokering an information system again. Informants, she ran through a list in her head.

Myosotis would be the easiest to begin with. This is what she needs Dwale for. The last time she heard, the two had similar abilities. Not quite the same, but the similiarities were there. Given this, she knew that Dwale was the best man for the job. No, Skulduggery would have been the best man. But since the war, he was handicapped. He needed Valkyrie to ground him, to give him focus of a sort. Now with Valkyrie gone, she was _the_ focus for him. China knew this and planned with it in mind.

She rounded a corner and found Dwale, aiding the Elemental sorcerers in clearing the rubble near the memorial.

"Dwale," China said. The man turned and suddenly, all the sorcerers stood still.

"My lady," a sorcerer, mousy looking with filthy clothes stepped forward and promptly fell. China sighed. If this was what she had to work with, it was no wonder no one protested her decision.

Gently, she said, "There is much to be done. See to it that these corridors are clear then, gather in the Council chambers. Dwale, I need to speak to you alone."

She drew him aside, gave him instructions and let him go. He would find Myosotis somehow and through her, she could gather more information. A woman with her talents surely would be able to go many places. China considered the fact that the woman was a German mage and then discarded the problem. She knew she would find a way around that. For the moment, she needed to initiate contact.

She needed to find Saracen next, needed to ask him if it would be a wise decision to tell the mages – her mages about Valkyrie and Darquesse right now or if she should wait. At least there was one thing she could be sure of; there would be no problem in gaining help to seek out Darquesse. She laughed at that. She sent a mage to find him and returned to the Grand Mage's chambers.

~x~x~x~

Nearly 5 years later, they had come full circle. Five years ago, it was Skulduggery who had gone missing. Skulduggery was lost to them. At least she had thought so. China had made peace with that, it had been much easier then as she had so long ago lost him to his wife. He was not hers. That had only lasted for two days. Then, Valkyrie had turned up in her library, strode in and demanded China help her find the Murder Skull.

China immediately knew what Valkyrie was planning. Dangerous, no. It was far beyond that, reckless, ill advised. Yet, she helped Valkyrie. No one deserved to languish with the Faceless Ones. Worse yet, China knew that the Faceless Ones would enjoy torturing Skulduggery. Ghastly and Tanith once approached her, worried that Valkyrie was far too consumed by the quest.

China held her peace then. She had implied in few words that she understood and supported their concerns. All the while knowing, if Valkyrie were to falter, she would persuade the girl back on track. But she knew Valkyrie, knew that she would continue doing everything in her power to bring back Skulduggery even if it meant she would die trying.

Asides from herself, Ghastly, Tanith and Fletcher, there had been not much help in finding and saving Skulduggery. In fact, many people especially Davina Marr and Thurid Guild had done everything they could to prevent it.

"China."

She turned her head. Speak of the devil indeed. Skulduggery had been watching her but it could not have been long. She would have noticed him. He adjusted his hat and stalked forward.

"The refle—Stephanie has agreed to help us. Till a sighting of Darquesse is reported though, we can't move," he said, voice flat.

China gets tangled in her words, before she could even say anything. Previously, she had to be careful in what she told Skulduggery. She liked being evasive, not letting them know everything. Where was the fun in being direct, no, she liked being mysterious.

Now, she has to be careful for far worse reasons. Skulduggery was slipping, and there was no Valkyrie to restrain him. She waited till he reached her desk.

"The English Sanctuary has offered their help. Their psychics are on a lookout."

"They won't find anything, China," Skulduggery said, "Darquesse will allow herself to be seen, only to lead us into a game. The most reliable way in this situation are the eyes on the ground."

China gathered her nerves, she needs to broach this with him before he strolls off on what amounts to a suicide mission. "There is the matter of backup, you cannot go on this suicide mission alone."

"Stephanie has the Sceptre," Skulduggery muttered.

She looked at Skulduggery, "Their help is freely given."

He summoned a flame and snuffed it, "Thing is would they be more help or hindrance?"

She knew this. Knows that they are all eager to help, unlike when Skulduggery was missing. But their help would come at a cost. She knew that they would not stop at finding Darquesse, they would do their level best to kill her. China knows that this is also the reason that he refuses the help.

"One would think you are eager to meet your death, Detective Pleasant. Going in with a reflection, a human one that has no magic," China wondered where was his sarcasm, his wit. It was as if she were talking to a shell, a hollow version of him.

He tilted his head and his response, coldly delivered, echoed in her head and she knew his words to be true. He stalked away as she watched. What a painful image it cut, to see him now. There was an emptiness that gaped beside him. China knew then, she had sent him to his death or his salvation. Both ways, she had damned him and there was naught she could do now.

"Don't you know, Grand Mage Sorrows? I am," he paused, "Was already _dead._"

* * *

**A/N: **This was mainly triggered by my meta on tumblr about how we have come full circle, this meta specifically. From Dark Days to Last Stand Of Dead Men.

I chose China to carry this story, because of all the characters, China has probably the most regular contact since the beginning with Valkyrie and Skulduggery. Plus, I legit like China.

Please review and let me know what you think. Thank you!


	3. to be alone (1 of 3)

**A/N: **This fic is basically one of my theories on what will happen in book 9. I plan on this being a 3 chapter arc, but it could go up till 5.

It is not inspired by anything in particular, but I feel there's a song that really suits this fic. Which is where the main title and the chapter titles are drawn from. Take a shot and guess what the song is.

Please review and let me know what you think. Thank you!

**Summary**

_There's a current of emptiness that weaves through her mind now, a terrible sense that never leaves her be._

* * *

**TAKE ME HOME  
_to be alone_  
**_(part 1 of 3)_

_She was being held back. Lost in her head, lost in her body. Which way was up and which was down? There's something terrible, something that cannot happen. She doesn't know what. She can't describe how this feels. It's like swimming to find the surface, except she had been under for so very long that she knows not where to go._

_She finally breaks through only to be drowned in the light, the too bright light that washed out everything. The last thing she ever remembers is reaching out for the dark shadow that turned away from her._

It is this dream, a dream of a memory that she wakes up to most nights. Stephanie sighed, scrabbled around for the alarm. Instead, she only swept off the papers on her bedside table. She gave up; she could sleep when she was dead. She stretched and with it, she lost the last vestiges of the dream.

There's a current of emptiness that weaves through her mind now, a terrible sense that never leaves her be. Fleeting those moments might be, but it underlines Stephanie's life, everything that she does now. Often, she remembered that she should not feel this empty, this burned out at 25. All her friends, Hannah, Trevor and all were so happy. They were so happy. But all Stephanie knew was a sense of loss, though it was perfectly justified she supposed.

The one constant she holds onto is that she did not belong here, not in Haggard with its small community, boring routines. She knows the world is much bigger than this town, a beautiful town but it is only a small speck in the human spectrum. She wanted to see something more, something bigger than all this. Maybe, just maybe she could do it. By travelling. God, it sounded lovely. Better than being stuck in this rut, alone in a big, empty mansion.

The house was far too lonely. Which person could claim owning a house at 12? With complimentary fortunes and royalties attached, kind sir and madam. It was not even her house. Not in all the ways that still mattered.

She poured herself cereal and curled up on the couch with the newspaper. Paging through the paper, Stephanie finally found her column on page 6.

She was well off even before she was done with high school. Not many people could claim the same. That was why she felt comfortable, lazing around the house and freelancing as a reporter. On her days off from work, she would write. Writing was the only way she ever escaped. Into worlds of magic and aliens, of alternate dimensions. It was when she wrote that she felt alright. Putting down words to all those thoughts she had in her head, so farfetched that most would not believe them.

Stephanie flipped the pages of the newspaper, stopping on an article about the beauties of Krabi, Thailand. If this was not a sign, she didn't know what would be. She closed the paper and booted up her laptop. She had research to do.

An hour later, she had a rough itinerary, her hotels booked and a flight ticket out to Hat Yai international airport with a layover in Dubai. She flew in two weeks. All she needed to do for now was tell her parents.

This was going to go over well indeed, she suspected. It didn't matter though. It was her financials and her life. And she needed to find herself. Clichéd as it was, Stephanie thought that travelling would help. It was not as if she had not tried other things. Whatever it was, she simply had never belonged here. And she thirsted for adventure. There had been a distinct lack of it for so long. Wanderlust was written into her blood for so long now that she could not ignore it's call anymore.

Stephanie tugged a jacket on and walked out to the car. Time to visit the parents, she thought as the engine purred to life. The beautiful 1954 Bentley R-Type Continental pulled off from the mansion's driveway and into Haggard proper.


End file.
